In Photoshop CS6, 3D functionality is part of Photoshop Extended. All features in Photoshop Extended are part of Photoshop CC. Photoshop CC does not have a separate Extended offering.

About DICOM files

Note:

DICOM (an acronym for Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) is the most common standard for receiving medical scans. Photoshop allows you to open and work with DICOM (.dc3, .dcm, .dic, or no extension) files. DICOM files can contain multiple “slices” or frames, which represent different layers of a scan.

Photoshop reads all frames from a DICOM file and converts them to Photoshop layers. Photoshop can also place all DICOM frames in a grid on one layer, or open frames as a 3D volume which you can rotate in 3D space. Photoshop can read 8‑, 10‑, 12‑, or 16‑bit DICOM files. (Photoshop converts 10‑ and 12‑bit files to 16‑bit files.)

Once you’ve opened a DICOM file in Photoshop, you can use any Photoshop tool to adjust, mark up, or annotate the file. For example, use the Notes tool to add a comment to the file, the Pencil tool to mark a specific area of the scan or the Dust And Scratches filter to remove dust or scratches from a scan. Use the Ruler or selection tools to make measurements of image content.

Note:

Any measurement scale present in a DICOM file is automatically imported with the file. If no scale is present, the default scale of 1 pixel = 1 mm is added as a custom measurement scale. See Set the measurement scale.

When you save a file as DICOM, any layer styles, adjustments, blend modes, or masks are discarded.

You can also view and edit metadata for DICOM files in Bridge or in the Photoshop File Info dialog box. DICOM files support external automation through scripting (see Scripting).

Open a DICOM file

Before you open a DICOM file, you can specify how DICOM frames are opened (as layers, in a grid, or as a 3D volume), and set options (in the DICOM File Import dialog box) that anonymize patient metadata and display overlays. During the import you can also perform pans, zooms, and window leveling.

The DICOM import dialog box also displays DICOM header information—textual information about the file, such as its dimensions, data resolution, and whether the data has been compressed.

Note:

You can import a sequence of multiple, single-frame DICOM files into a single multilayered Photoshop file, using the New Video Layer from File command. See Import image sequences.

Choose File > Open, select a DICOM
file, and click Open.

Select the frames you want to open. Shift-click to select
contiguous frames. To select noncontiguous frames, Ctrl-click (Windows)
or Command-click (Mac OS). Click Select All to
select all frames.

Note:

To quickly scroll through frames, use
the mouse scroll wheel (Windows) or click the Right or Left Arrow
buttons below the large preview area.

Choose from the following options, and then click Open.

Frame Import

Import Frames As Layers places DICOM frames on layers.
N‑Up Configuration displays multiple frames in a grid (enter values
in the Rows and Columns boxes to specify height and width of grid).
Import as volume opens the DICOM frames as a volume, where the z-distance
is determined by DICOM settings and data is interpolated between
the frames. You can view the volume from any angle, using a variety
of rendering modes to highlight data.

DICOM Dataset

Anonymize overwrites patient metadata with “anonymize.” Show
Overlays displays overlays such as annotations, curves, or text.

Windowing

Select Show Windowing Options to adjust the contrast (Window Width) and brightness (Window Level) of the frame. Alternatively, you can drag the Window Level tool up or down to adjust the level, or to the right or left to adjust the width. You can also choose common radiology presets from the Window Preset menu (Default, Lung, Bone, or Abdomen). Select Reverse Image to invert the brightness values of the frame.

Note:

To zoom, choose a zoom level from the Select Zoom Level menu (or click the plus and minus signs to zoom in and out). To pan, click the Hand icon at the top of the dialog box and drag across the frame.

Create a 3D volume from DICOM frames

Choose File > Open, select
a DICOM file, and click Open.

Select the frames you want to convert to a 3D volume.
Shift-click to select contiguous frames. To select noncontiguous
frames, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS).
Click Select All to select all frames.

In Frame Import Options, select Import as volume, then
click Open.

Photoshop creates a 3D volume of the DICOM frames and
places it on a 3D layer in the Layers panel. You can use Photoshop’s
3D position tools to view the 3D volume from any angle, or change
render settings to better visualize data.

The original DICOM file is preserved as a Diffuse texture layer associated with the 3D volume layer. For information on 3D textures, see 3D texture editing.

Double-click the texture layer to open the DICOM file as a Smart Object in its own document window. The DICOM frames appear as separate layers in the Layers panel.

Any changes you make to individual layers are applied to the 3D volume when you close and save the Smart Object.

If OpenGL support is enabled on your system, you can also use the 3D Axis to rotate, move, or scale the 3D volume. See 3D Axis.

View a 3D volume in different render
modes

Select the 3D layer containing the DICOM
volume in the Layers panel.

Choose Window > 3D to open the 3D panel.

From the Preset menu in the lower section of the 3D panel,
select a render mode.

Note:

Render modes that use a transfer function use a Photoshop
gradient to render values in the volume. The gradient color and
opacity values are combined with the grayscale values in the volume
to optimize or highlight different types of content. Transfer function
render modes are only available for grayscale DICOM images.

Enhanced Boundaries

Lowers the opacity of homogeneous regions while retaining
the opacity of the boundaries. It can also reduce noise in the volume.

Full Range Color Scale

Transfer function that uses a full “rainbow” Photoshop color
gradient.

High Range Highlights

Transfer function that uses the color white for the entire
value range, zero opacity for low range values, and high opacity
for high range values.

Low Range Highlights

Transfer function that uses the color white for the entire value
range, zero opacity for high range values, and high opacity for
low range values.

Maximum Intensity Projection

Displays maximum values in the volume to provides a quick
preview of volume structure. Does not provide any depth cues.

Red-Blue Color Scale

Transfer function that uses a full red-blue color gradient.

Thin Isolines

Transfer function that uses constant color, while opacity component
is a function with multiple spikes, to display isovalues.

X-Ray

Approximates X-ray radiation transport through an X-ray
translucent medium. This effect is useful for generating an image
from a CT scan that looks like an X-ray shot of the same object.

White-Black Color Scale

Transfer function using a white-black color component.

(Optional) To create a custom render mode, click Render Settings in the 3D panel to open the 3D Render Settings dialog box. Select options in the Volume Styles section of the dialog. See Change 3D render settings.

Export DICOM frames as JPEG files

Open a DICOM file and set options in the DICOM File Import dialog box (see Open a DICOM file).

The JPEG files are saved in the specified location
with the prefix added to the filenames. If you selected multiple
frames, Photoshop appends successive numbering to the end of each
filename (for example, DICOM Frame1, DICOM Frame2, DICOM Frame3).

DICOM metadata

You
can view and edit several categories of DICOM metadata in the Photoshop File
Info dialog box.

Patient data

Includes patient name, ID, sex, and date of birth.

Study data

Includes study ID, referring physician, study date and time,
and study description.

Series data

Includes series number, modality, series date and time, and
series description.

Equipment data

Includes the equipment institution and manufacturer.

Image data

Includes the transfer syntax, photometric interpretation,
image width and height, bits per pixel, and frames. (These fields
are not editable.)

Animate DICOM files

To animate DICOM slices or frames, select all DICOM layers and choose Make Frames From Layers from the Animation (Timeline) panel menu.

After creating frames in the (Animation) Timeline panel, you can save DICOM files as QuickTime movies (change grayscale DICOM files to RGB, and then render to video). You can also save frames as animated GIF files (choose File > Save for Web and Devices).